The Bottineau pioneer. (Bottineau, N.D.) 1885-1895, 1887-06-16
FARM AND GARDEN.
cuLrIyATrNG SPRING GRAIN.

CULTIvATING SPRING GRAIN.
1t is commonly supposed that after
Spring grain is sown nothing more can
be done to it until it is ready to harvest.
But the cultivation by the slanting
,ooth harrow either before or after the
grain is up can only improve the crop.
It is not safe to harrow where grass
seed is sown. as even if it has not
sprouted it may cover the small seed
loo deeply.
THE SMALLEST PIGS IN A LITTER. -
In every litter of large numbers there
will always be one and sometimes two
weaklings. As the only business of a
hog is to make growth and fat, these
poor specimens should be culled out as
soon as possible, and either sold, given
away or killed. The time and labor
required to bring these runts up to
their mates might be much better ex-
pended in some other way.
sTREET-CAR HORSES.
The city street-cars use up horses
speedily, as the animals have to be
driven rapidly W stone or other hard
pavements. Only the toughest and
soundest horses can stand this usage
long. Many horses thrown aside as
useless for street car purposes are COM
%paratively sound, and may be made to
do good work on the farm, with all the
road travel that most farm horses are
obliged to do.
REMOVING SUCKERS FROM TREES.
The small shoots around the trunk
of an apple tree should be closely
pruned, as also any from the centre of
the trees on the larger limbs. This
growth is the natural result of Winter
pruning the previous year, and to en-
tirely check it the pruning may be post
poned until the leaves have started.
This with too rapidly growing trees is
often a good method to set them to fruit
bearing.
THE LATE CROP OF CABBAGE.
A hotbed is not necessary to start
cabbage for the late crop. Make a bed
in some rich ground, get the surface in
fine filth, and SOW the seeds thinly in
rows so that the line may be passed be-
tween them. It is important to push
growth rapidly, and if the plants are
taken up and reset in the beds they
will be mor stocky and have more
ibrous roots, so that when finally set
out in the field there will be little or no
check to their growth.
LATE SPRING SHOWS.
A snowstorm after a few days
of warm weather is sometimes called
the poor mans manure. Its large flakes
undoubtedly are better absorbents of
whatever ammonia may be in the air
than are the smaller particles of rain.
But there is comparatively little am
monia in the air in early Spring, as it
must kave been washed out during the
preceding Winter. Snow on the sur
face of the ground is, however, a pro-
lection to whatever crows on tagainst
-t~ozlhg, while the increasing heat of
Spring days insures permanently warm
or weather.
sURPERFLUOUs FENCES.
We are learning to do, with, fewer,
fences than were once considered ne
cessary, and in some places where
land is high priced and neal good mar
ket, soiling is done away with the pas
ture system, and fences can be almost
entirely dispensed with. Since so much
farm work is done by machinery and
horse labor, fields have been thrown
together by removing the fences be-
tween them. This gives more land.
besides greatly conducting to cheapness
of cultivation. On almost all farms
there is a work of this kind to be done,
and it should be got out of the way ear
ly, before the busy season begins.
CHARCOAL FOR LAWNS.
The black color of charcoal makes it
valuable as a to~p-dressing for lawns in
early Spring. 1t has some manurial
properties, all charcoal having some
potash, and when old it has also in ad-
dition some ammonia that it has alb
sorbed from the air. 1t makes a pref
ty sight to see bright green leaves of
grass spring up through the black sur
face which a thin dressing of charcoal
makes. The dark color absorbs and
retains heat from the direct rays of the
sun, while later in the season the up
springing grass covers the charcoal,
which then acts as a mulch, keeping
the soil beneath moist and cool.
SAVING SMALL CALVES.
That a COW has a very small calf
may be due to several causes, influence
of it's sire, deficient feeding of the ma
terials required to make growth, or
possibly to small size in the dam her.
self. Heifers while making growth u.s.
ually drop small calves, but many
farmers have found that the calves
from heiters are often superior mixers
and we'll worth raising, if heifers. I'M
til they become COWS. It might be sug-
gested that the tendency to early milk
productions may be inbred by letting
heifers drop their calves very young
and breeding from these. Perhaps this
may be n of the means by which the
Jersey cattle were originated, thus &C.
counting at the same time for their
small size. y
HARDY BREEDS OF HOGS.